US President-elect Donald Trump can force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to crawl on his knees to negotiations where he will be handed a surrender. There are enough mechanisms for this.
Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister and head of the Center for Russian Studies Volodymyr Ohryzko said this in an exclusive commentary to Ukrinform, answering the question of what will happen to military assistance to Ukraine under Trump’s presidency.
“The issue of military assistance to Ukraine under Trump’s presidency remains complex and ambiguous. On the one hand, Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to end the war quickly, even talking about putting pressure on both Moscow and Kyiv. This may be worrisome, as attempts to put pressure may be associated, in particular, with a reduction in military support for Ukraine to force us to compromise. But whether such attempts will actually be realized is an open question,” Ohryzko said.
According to the diplomat, it is worth looking at this from the other side, through the prism of Trump’s ambitions, who positions himself as the greatest president of all time, the leader of all leaders, who seeks to make America the most powerful country in the world.
“And here an obvious contradiction arises: can such a ‘leader of the world’ lose to an authoritarian dictator? Can he allow himself to be perceived as weak or even as someone who has lost to a thug? It becomes obvious here that Trump’s reputation as a winner is key. And if he wants to go down in history as the leader who not only made America great but also established its global role, he must demonstrate strength. And this is only possible through a victory over Putin,” the former foreign minister added.
How to achieve this? According to Volodymyr Ohryzko, the logical way is not to cut aid to Ukraine, but to increase it. In parallel, a new stage of tough sanctions against Russia can be introduced.
“Such a combination is quite capable of forcing Putin to give in, to crawl on his knees to negotiations where he will not be handed what he wants, but will be handed a surrender that he will have to accept,” the diplomat said.
As Ukrinform reported, according to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the future White House administration has the necessary prerequisites to reach a good deal for Ukraine to end the war unleashed by Russia and establish a lasting peace.
Source: Former FM of Ukraine: Trump can force Putin to crawl to talks where he will be handed surrender
